Shame
by xFabulaexImaginariax
Summary: Richard laughed at his friends, "If I really wanted to, I could probably get any girl I wanted in bed with me. Just takes a little time, even if they reject me the first time." He looked down and continued picking at his food, looking up when he heard a chuckle. Xavier leaned forward, "Any girl? Are you sure about that Grayson? What about her?" Rated M. Rich/Kori Karen/Vic Rae/Gar
1. Chapter 1

Shame

Summary: Richard laughed at his friends, "If I really wanted to, I could probably get any girl I wanted in bed with me. Just takes a little time, even if they reject me the first time." He looked down and continued picking at his food, looking up when he heard a chuckle. Xavier leaned forward, "Any girl? Are you sure about that Grayson? What about her?" Richard followed Xavier's finger, his mouth wide dropping open once he realized who it was that he was pointing at. Rated M. Rich/Kori

-x-x-x-x- Chapter One –x-x-x-x-

Hazel eyes stared intently down the hallway at a young red-headed woman putting in the code to her locker. She shifted nervously while she was attempting to open her locker down, feeling as if someone was watching her every move.

Sure enough when she looked up to her right, she locked eyes with Xavier who was a ways down the hallway. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her books, hating the fact that she'd have to walk pass him to get to her first period classroom. Her stomach began to hurt as she got nearer.

Xavier could sense her annoyance and smirked, watching her head his way he shut his locker and waited for her. "Hey Kori," he casually said, allowing her to walk pass him, his eyes traveling down to her butt, grinning at the view. "Hi," she bluntly said, trying to walk faster to get away from him.

He rolled his eyes. "Kori," he stated, grabbing her arm and pulling her down an emptying hallway. She ripped her arm away from his grasp and glared up at him, "First off, don't ever touch me again. And secondly, you're making me late to class."

"You're not mad still are you?" He asked, looking down at her eyes. He could feel the rage coming off of her, "Seriously? Still?"

"Leave me alone," she said, venom dripping from every word. She shoved him away, and quickly walked off to class.

Xavier watched her leave, crossing his arms across his chest. Once he saw that she turned the corner, he lost all control of his anger and punched the locker next to him. "It's only a matter of time, Kori."

-x-x-x-x-

During her first period class, Kori couldn't stop thinking about the events that just happened though she should be focusing on getting her book project finished. She rubbed her arm, wincing at the pain she still felt from him grabbing her arm so hard. She was almost scared to leave her first class, fearing that he'd be waiting for her outside. She sighed, a sigh that went unnoticed by her best friend.

"Kori, is everything alright?" said her friend, a beautifully paled young woman with dark raven locks, concern lingering in her violet eyes.

Kori mustered the best smile she could, despite how bad her morning had been so far. "Yes, Rachel. I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well." Kori laughed, but Rachel still could feel that something else was going on. As much as she wanted to know, she respected Kori's privacy, and let it go for now. She knew Kori would tell her when she was ready, and so then didn't want to push it.

"So, is Karen's new boyfriend supposed to be sitting with us today? She was freaking out about him asking her out when I talked to her on the phone last night," Kori casually brought up, wanting to change the topic.

"I'm assuming. You know how Karen is, always having to show off her new things," Rachel bluntly said, her eyes still remaining on the book she was reading for class. "You know, this book project is due next week Kori. You always get your homework done, and I've hardly seen you work on it at all. Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yes, yes. I told you, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well. See the dark rings under my eyes?" Kori giggled, though the dark rings under her eyes were caused more from crying. "Don't worry, Rae. I've read this book like a thousand times, so I'm just not really worried about it."

Rachel shifted in her seat, knowing Kori was hiding something. A sense of worry washed over her, but she again knew not to push the subject, hoping Kori would come to her when she was ready.

-x-x-x-x-

The rest of the day seemed to just drag on for Kori. However, she was happy for the fact that she didn't run into Xavier again, feeling less and less nervous about anything happening. Despite her beginning to feel more at ease, she knew to still keep her eye out for him just in case.

The bell rang, shaking her of her thoughts, and Kori got up happily, excited that it was finally lunch time. She said bye to her lab partner and headed out of the classroom toward the cafeteria. Kori wasn't exactly the definition of "popular" but for the most part, everyone knew and liked her. She had a big heart, and shows it everything she does.

She smiled as she passed everyone in the cafeteria, making her way to her table. She always packed her lunch, so she never had to wait in line. While she walked she managed to get out quite a few hello's and how are yous, despite she never actually knew any of them on anything but a first name basis.

Kori was a beautiful young woman, with auburn hair and bright emerald eyes. She was tall for a girl, standing at about 5'7" and had what would say an "amazing body" with curves in all the right places. She knew this is why most of her admirers were guys, though she had no interest in any of them.

Kori was shy, and she knew that was why she'd never fit in with the "In crowd" not that she ever wanted to. Her friends were shy just like her, and they call just kind of found each other their freshman year in gym class. The most popular person in her friend group was Karen, however. Karen was a loud and proud cheerleader, and many people could never figure out why she hung out with people like Kori and Rachel, they often wondered it themselves.

She smiled when she saw two of her friends gathered around their table. "Greetings friends," she chirped, not at all feeling the way she felt that morning. Her friend Roy got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Hey Kori." She sat down next to him and Rachel. "I see someone is feeling better," Rachel muttered, still reading a book as she munched on a carrot. Kori gave Rachel one of her famous bone-crushing hugs, "Much better. Where is Karen?"

"Right behind you!" said a loud, cheerful voice. Kori turned around, beaming at her friend. "Hey Karen, I take it this is your new boyfriend?" Kori asked, looking up at a tall African American male with a shaved head. She knew who he was, he was the Captain of the football team. "Yes, I am. I'm Victor. Victor Stone. How do you do little lady?" he asked, extending out his hand, flashing her a huge friendly smile.

Kori felt instant relief, originally scared that he was going to have an "I'm better than you" type of attitude that most of his friends had. "I'm doing okay," she peeped out, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. He locked eyes with her, approving the handshake.

"Victor, the one you just shook hands with is Kori," Karen stated, before she began to point around, "That's Roy Harper, Thee star of the track team. " Roy blushed at her words, and gave Victor a wave. "And that's Rachel, queen of darkness and all that good stuff."

Rachel tore her eyes away from the book and gave Karen a death glare. Karen winked in return, happy that her comment got a rise out of her. "Our friend Terra usually sits with us too, but she hasn't been here for a couple days. But you already know her anyways."

"You guys don't mind if he sits with us, do you?" Karen asked, though she knew she didn't have to. Her friends weren't the type to turn anyway away, and that's why she loved them so much.

"Any friend…er, boyfriend, is welcome here Karen, you know that," Kori smiled, before motioning for them to take their seats.

-x-x-x-x-

Richard Grayson walked into the cafeteria, smirking as he could see all the girls swooning over him and his good looks. He took off his sunglasses, showing off his bright blue eyes, and made his way to his table.

The friends he sat with included Xavier Red, Garfield Logan, and usually Victor Stone. He didn't really keep that many friends, so these were the only people he really kept constant contact with. Of course, though he'd rather their table just stay them four, Xavier usually had different girls tagging along at lunch, hanging all over him.

Richard realized one of his friends was in fact missing. "Where is Vic at?" he questioned, sitting down as he popped open his can of soda. "Oh, I don't know actually. He said something earlier about sitting with his new girlfriend today at lunch," Garfield replied. Richard shook his head and couldn't help but notice that for once Xavier didn't have any girls at the table, and he wasn't yet bragging about who he slept with the night before.

"What's wrong, X? Did a girl actually turn you down for once?" Richard sneered, amused at Xavier's bad attitude, as he looked down to examine his food. "Oh shut it, Dick. Don't act like you've never been turned down before. And if you haven't, I'm sure it'll happen sometime," Xavier snapped back angrily.

Richard laughed at his friends, "If I really wanted to, I could probably get any girl I wanted in bed with me. Just takes a little time, even if they reject me the first time." He looked down and continued picking at his food, looking up when he heard a chuckle. Xavier leaned forward, "Any girl? Are you sure about that Grayson? What about her?"

Richard followed Xavier's finger, his mouth dropping wide open once he realized who it was that he was pointing at.


	2. Chapter 2

Shame

-x-x-x-x- Chapter Two –x-x-x-x-

Richard laughed at his friends, "If I really wanted to, I could probably get any girl I wanted in bed with me. Just takes a little time, even if they reject me the first time." He looked down and continued picking at his food, looking up when he heard a chuckle. Xavier leaned forward, "Any girl? Are you sure about that Grayson? What about her?"

Richard followed Xavier's finger, his mouth dropping wide open once he realized who it was that he was pointing at.

"Kori Anders?" He spat out, so confused. "Of all girls, why would you choose Kori Anders?"

"Yeah man," Garfield pitched in, "I heard she's awesome and a sweetheart. Why stick Grayson on her?"

"Trust me guys, I know her. She's far from a sweetheart, first of all," Xavier almost growled, "And secondly, I chose her because I know she's practically unattainable, or so I've heard. But look, if you're not up for the challenge, I completely understand."

Richard stared at Xavier a moment, trying to figure out what it was that Xavier was really planning. "And you're challenging me with Kori because you think I can't do it? Or because you have an ulterior motive?"

Xavier chuckled, "Me? An ulterior motive? With Kori? You know me better than that Dick," he coolly said, though not looking Richard in the eyes, "I just want to see if you can do what other men can't."

"And if I would happen to get Kori into bed with me what would I get? Just a fuck?" Richard asked, growing more and more interested into Xavier's challenge.

"I would offer you money, but seeing how we both don't really need any, I'll buy you that motorcycle you've wanted to get but haven't gotten around to, and yes, you'd get to say that you were the first man to be inside the precious Kori Anders," Xavier said, knowing Richard would definitely go in for the deal now.

"And if you don't charm miss Anders into bed with you, well… I guess I don't really want anything from you. Nothing in particular comes to mind. It's all in good fun for me."

"Well Xavier, you know what? It's my last year of high school. Fuck it, why not. I'll be enjoying that motorcycle after graduation." And with those words, Xavier flashed one of his famous smiles and extended his hand, which Richard shook more than willingly. "No one can speak of this to anyone, agreed?" Xavier asked, eyeing both of his friends, who both nodded in agreement.

Garfield watched in disbelief as the two agreed to do such a horrible thing and rolled his eyes. "You're gonna regret this Dick, I can already tell…"

Xavier looked at Garfield disapprovingly and Garfield shrugged his shoulders, "But do what you want I guess. I gotta bail though guys, I'll see you later." Garfield grabbed his books and walked out of the cafeteria. Richard knew what he was doing was wrong, but he could never turn down a challenge, he was born that way.

Richard glanced back over at Kori. He fought a smile when he could see her laughing with her friends. She seemed so sweet, so innocent. _Why am I doing this?_ He wondered, guilt already starting to eat him alive knowing what he'd be trying to do to her. Knowing he'd end up breaking her heart after using her for however long it took.

He was always a sucker for red heads, and by the way he's always seen Kori running around always trying to stay positive and be there for everyone, he feared she might start pulling on his heart strings.

Richard was soon torn away from his thoughts when he heard Xavier talking. "What?" Richard asked, snapping out of it. "I said," Xavier began, "I found out what I want from you, after all. You have until the end of the school year. If you still have not completed this little task, you have to stand up and tell everyone you've failed at the graduation ceremony, whether you're still dating her or not."

"The graduation ceremony?!" Richard exclaimed angrily, "C'mon! Bruce will be there!"

"Part of the deal, Grayson. If you're man enough to do this, you can be man enough to do that part of it."

"Fine whatever, Redd."

The cafeteria bell rang and Richard stood up, and soon found himself staring back over at the red head. Richards eyes widened when he realized the Victor was sitting at the table with her and her friends. Laughing loudly as he always does. "Great, this just got harder if Vic is involved with her," he hatefully muttered, before heading towards the exit.

-x-x-x-x-

"Goodbye friends, I shall see you Monday!" Kori called out as she and all her friends parted.

Richard stopped in his tracks as he realized that she was coming towards him and she was alone. He began to smirk. _Nothing wrong in getting a head start on this challenge, I guess I can always do the 'accidentally' bump into each other trick, _he thought as he made sure to get his timing right.

She turned to walk out when she slammed into something hard. Kori rubbed her shoulder and looked up, soon finding herself to be staring into the icy blue eyes of Richard Grayson.

She immediately felt her cheeks turn red.

Richard continued to look down at her, though he started to feel awkward. "Uh… Guess we should pay attention more, huh. Haha," he lamely laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, I guess we should… I'm sorry. I've been a major klutz lately," Kori said, looking down at her feet. He started feeling sad, not meaning to upset her. "Hey, it's alright. It happens…. You know, people running into each other. I'm sorry for being rude and not properly introducing myself. I'm Richard. Richard Grayson."

He was taken back when he heard her start laughing. "As if I don't know who you are Richard. Everyone does. And we practically sat next to each other in English all last year… but not that we ever talked or anything…" she trailed off, regretting that she sounded a bit bitter.

His eyes widened once again, feeling more and more of a dick by the second. "Oh yeah… I forgot we had a class together… It was nothing personal that I didn't talk to you… I don't really go out of my way to talk to people…"

_He sure went out of his way to talk to every slut in class who threw herself at him…_She looked up at him again, studying his flawless face. _Why is he trying to be nice to me?_ She wondered, knowing that Richard had no interest in talking to her before. "I understand," she quietly said, "but I guess I must get going now… Don't want to be late." She waved goodbye and quickly walked away, leaving him behind.

Kori couldn't deny her attraction for him. He was tall, standing 6'3". She enjoyed the fact that he wasn't very tan, and had a lighter complexion unlike most guys at Gotham High. And his eyes… oh how she loved his eyes. She had never seen such a shade before… So blue, so mysterious.

She knew why women couldn't help but to throw themselves at him. He was the mysterious playboy of Gotham, who got whatever he wanted when he wanted it, and could give women whatever they wanted too. Kori had him all figured out. He was arrogant, spoiled, and didn't talk to those "beneath" him.

Because of all that she knew he would never go for anyone like her. She wasn't exactly the same social status. She wasn't popular. She wasn't his type. Or so she thought.

Kori went to turn the corner and head for her locker when she heard someone calling out her name. At first she thought she was imagining it, but then the calls became closer to her and louder.

She turned around to see Richard running towards her. For some reason she felt herself tense up, and tried to relax her body though she was disappointed to see no one else in the hallway to keep her mind at ease.

"Y-yes?" she shakily said, trying to keep some sort of distance between them.

Richard could sense her discomfort, and backed off a little bit. "You must have dropped your phone when we bumped into each other," he stated, handing her the cellphone.

She let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding and was about to say thank you when she noticed his smile.

"Why are you smiling at me like that," she asked, almost giggling. Feeling her own smile creep up onto her lips.

"Oh, nothing. I just put my number in there on my way to find you, so you could text me thank you later. But as you said, don't want to be late to class."

Richard winked at her and left her standing there, in awe of what happened. The girl part of her wanted to scream out loud that Richard Grayson wanted her to text him, but the other part of her felt like something was a little off.

"Who are you Richard Grayson?" She asked quietly, watching him become farther and farther away before disappearing down the other hallway.

-x-x-x-x-

**Thank you to all the ones who have reviewed, favorite, and followed my story so far! I know it's a little slow right now, but I'm already working on chapter 3. I've been super busy lately so I'm trying to update what I can when I can. It'll get better, promise! :D **

**Please continue to review, favorite, and follow!**


	3. Chapter 3

Shame

-x-x-x-x- Chapter Three –x-x-x-x-

A red 2008 Eclipse pulled into a long paved driveway. Kori got out of her car and stared at her house. It wasn't huge like most of her fellow classmates houses were, but it was spacious enough. It had three bedrooms, a large kitchen, 2.5 baths, and her room had its own balcony. She smiled as she walked through her front door, thankful to be safe inside the walls of her home.

Kori walked into her bedroom and threw herself down on her bed. "Finally it's the weekend," she muttered, feeling exhausted from the entire week. She wished she could tell someone what was going on with her, but she was too worried for her safety.

"_Oh c'mon cutie, just go with it," Xavier said, climbing on top of her, "I thought you said you liked me."_

Kori buried her head down in her pillow, trying to make thoughts of him disappear. She wanted to scream as her body began shaking, reliving every touch… every word.

The way he had treated her in the hallway frightened her… She could almost still feel the sting of his hand grabbing her arm the way he did. She feared he'd never leave her alone, not until he got what it was that he wanted from her.

"Kori? Are you alright? You never even said hello?" a worried voice called out from behind her door. She tried to sound like her joyous self, "Yes Ryan. I am fine. Just a little bit tired I guess."

"Yknow, I do know you better than that. You are my little sister who I've been practically raising, what's wrong? Whose ass do I need to kick?"

She let out a real giggle this time. "No one's Ryan, I swear. I promise I am just tired and not feeling the greatest. Forgive me for not saying hello to you, I did not think about it." She felt sick to her stomach, guilt starting to consume her. The one thing she hated more than anything was lying to her brother.

She quietly laid there on her bed and waited for him to reply. She knew he was sitting there trying to decide if he believed her or not.

"Alright… Well, I guess that's okay… You know you can talk to me Kori, if you ever need to…"

"I know Ryan. Thank you," she replied, thankful she had such a caring and protective brother.

Besides her Uncle Gal, he had been the one to take care of her since their parents died. As soon as he turned 18 he had her move in with him, instead of her staying at their uncles' house. She loved her Uncle, and still visited him all the time, but moving in with Ryan made her the happiest she had ever been.

It had been just her and him living together for four years now. He bought their house using most of the money he received after the death of their parents, and had just recently started work as an engineer. He always tried his best to make sure she had everything she needed, and tried to get her everything she wanted. However, Kori never took advantage of this. He had already done and sacrificed so much for her, so she never asked for much.

Kori heard her brother walk away from her door and she sighed. _I should probably text Rachel now,_ she thought as she grabbed her phone.

She went to contacts and typed in the letter R. The first two names that came up were 'Rae' and "Richard G'.

She couldn't help but to smile seeing that he actually did put his number in her phone, but she didn't know if she was actually going to text him yet or not. She clicked on Rachel's name and typed:

_**Hey Rachel, are you free to talk?**_

Kori turned over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, waiting for her friend to text her back. She almost squealed when she felt her phone vibrate. She quickly grabbed it.

Rachel: _**Yeah but calling is easier for me right now, I'm about to drive to Karen's. Want me to pick you up? Call me.**_

Kori dialed Rachel's number; it rang three times before Rachel answered.

"Why are you going to Karen's?" Kori asked, sounding a little nosey, but she was always curious.

"_I don't know, really. She said she was bored and wanted company. She asked me to invite you, but then you texted me before I could."_

"Oh… Well, I guess it's fine if you pick me up. But you'll never believe what happened to me today," Kori started, trying not to sound like some excited fan girl.

Rachel paused for a moment, _"Oh god, what happened. You sound like you're trying not to burst."_

Kori gave a lighthearted laugh, "I ran into Richard Grayson when I was leaving the cafeteria. I guess I dropped my phone? And he returned it to me with his number in it, telling me to text him to say thank you. I don't know if I should or not…"

"_I mean… It's Dick Grayson. I really don't think it's a good idea. He's kind of a cocky son of a bitch."_

Kori started to feel hurt by this… She should have known that's what Rachel would have said. But part of her wanted Rachel to say that just maybe it was a good idea… that maybe Richard wasn't that bad after all.

Kori frowned and quietly said, "Oh."

There was an awkward moment of silence on the phone, and Rachel instantly regretted sounding so bitter. _"But Kori… You don't need my permission? Who am I to judge, I don't even know the guy. I just wouldn't want you hurt or anything, but I guess there really isn't any harm in texting him… you know, just to see how things go."_

Kori felt herself beginning to feel like her bubbly self again… She hated the idea of not talking to someone just because of their reputation. If she had done that she would have never became friends with Rachel, Karen, Roy, or even Terra.

"Thank you Rachel!" she exclaimed, almost jumping up and down. She knew she got excited way too easily over little things, but that's just how she was. "I know I do not need permission, I just respect your opinion too much to never hear it."

Rachel allowed a small smile grace upon her lips, _"I know Kori. I'm here by the way. Come outside."_

"On my way!"

Kori hung up the phone and grabbed her bag. She put on her black converse and made her way downstairs. She passed her brother on the way to the front door.

She stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Rachel is here, we're going to Karen's so I probably won't be here for dinner. I'll see you tonight though!" Ryan gave her a hug and opened the door for her, "Have a great night, Kor. Be safe. Tell the girls I said hello."

Kori nodded and ran out the door, "Love you Ryan!"

-x-x-x-x-

Richard laid around his bedroom watching Criminal Minds on his flat screen. He sighed as he realized he had already seen this episode, annoyed at the fact that it was Friday and he had absolutely nothing to do but watch the same crime shows. He glanced down at his phone, getting slightly disappointed that Kori still hadn't texted him.

"I mean… Why wouldn't she? I wasn't mean or anything? I even winked at her," he expressed his thoughts out loud, frustrated that she had yet to show any interest him. "I guess this will be harder than I thought."

He sat up and stretched, deciding he would do some investigating. "Let's find out some more about you Miss Anders."

He grabbed his lap top and sat down at his desk. He got online and proceeded to login to his Facebook. Richard typed in Kori Anders in the search bar, and pulled up her account.

He grinned when he saw her profile picture. He couldn't help but to admit how truly adorable the woman was. In her picture she was holding up a cat, with the biggest smile plastered on her face. He, however, hated cats. He was already praying that if he ever had the opportunity to go to her house, she'd leave her cat in another room.

He contemplated on whether or not he should send her a friend request, and decided not to since she still hadn't even texted him yet. He felt like a complete stalker going through her profile, but that didn't stop him from looking at most of her posts and the things that she liked.

He was actually impressed that she apparently liked the same movies as him. Some of those movies included Kill Bill: Volumes 1 & 2, Law Abiding Citizen, and even some of the sillier movies like Pineapple Express and Night at the Roxbury.

He hardly saw any lovey-dovey romance movies listed; though there were a few, and he just enjoyed the fact she showed variety in what she likes… even music and book wise.

He didn't find too much out about if she had feelings for anyone. Besides her likes on her account, he mainly just reconfirmed who her best friends were, found out she had a brother Ryan, and a cat named Silkie.

"Well, I didn't learn much, but I found out more than I already know. I guess that's all that matters."

He jumped when he heard a knock on the door, feeling as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "It's open," he called out, shutting down his laptop. He looked up to see their butler, or to Richard, more like his grandfather.

"Hey Alfred, what's up?" he asked, swirling his computer chair around to face Alfred better.

"Master Bruce just rang. He would like you to be up for breakfast tomorrow around 8. He told me to tell you he is well aware that it is the weekend, but he needs to discuss some things with you before he goes into the office."

Richard rolled his eyes, "Why can't he tell me right now? Instead of ruining my Saturday."

Alfred gave him a stern look, "Master Richard, I do not like to hear that attitude of yours. I do not know why he is requesting that you are up by eight, instead of talking to you now, I'm just the messenger."

Richard sighed, "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm sorry Alfred. I'll be awake by eight, promise."

Alfred nodded his head and left Richards bedroom. "Well, now I really can't do anything tonight."

-x-x-x-x-

"WHAT?! Thee Richard Grayson?" Karen practically screamed, jumping up and down. "Have you texted him yet?"

Kori giggled at her friends enthusiasm, "No, not yet. I still don't really know if I want to."

Rachel felt a little relief that her friend was at least hesitant about it. As she said she didn't really know Richard, but she knew his type, or at least the type he made himself out to be.

"Why? He's gorgeous. And the fact that he practically begged you to text him is just…. Girl! What are you doing! Get on that phone right now!" Karen squealed out, grabbing Kori's arms and shaking her.

Kori was flat out laughing at this point. "Karen he did not 'beg' me to do anything. He just flirted for like a second. And yeah, put his number in my phone."

"Don't you think you're acting a little too excited?" Rachel randomly cut in, giving Karen a death glare. "Oh boy, Dick Grayson. You're well aware of his heart break history Karen, so I do not understand why you want Kori to even possibly go through that."

"Oh whatever Rachel. Be negative Nancy all you want. Victor acts like Richards really cool, and not at all like his reputation makes him out to be," Karen said hatefully, returning the death glare.

Kori stood there in between them, feeling quite uncomfortable. Feeling all the tension was becoming too much for her. "Please, let us all calm down and order a pizza. There is no need to be fighting over something so small. If I text him I do, if I don't I don't. It is really not that big of a deal."

Kori then realized both of her friends had turned and were glaring at her now, instead of each other. She rubbed the back of her head and let out an awkward, "He he…"

She noticed both of them then loosened up, and the tension seemed to disappear.

"Well where do you two want pizza from?" Karen said, walking away to go get her house phone. "I'm not eating anything with mushrooms, anchovies, or sausage."

"I'd just call Kings Pizzeria. They have the best pizza, at the best price," Rachel said, sitting down on the couch.

"That fine with you Kori?" Karen asked, and she nodded. "Is just an extra-large cheese and pepperoni okay?"

Kori gave the thumbs up and Rachel nodded yes in response.

"Alright, I'll call it in then," Karen said, leaving the room to go get the phone number. Kori went up to where Rachel was sitting and sat down.

"Are you okay? I did not know she'd act like that, I know it bothers you a lot about these kinds of things," Kori quietly said, looking at her best friend.

"I'm fine Kori. Sorry I lost my temper kind of, she just doesn't realize the possibility of anything negative. I mean, it might be okay if you talk to him, who knows unless you try. But I just don't want her getting your hopes up for something that may not ever happen."

Kori grabbed Rachel's hand and squeezed in reassuringly, "Please. I do not really expect anything to happen. I've seen all his exes and interests, and I'm nothing like them. He was probably just being nice. I don't know, I'll take the weekend to think on it."

-x-x-x-x-

It was Monday, and Kori pulled into her schools parking lot. She still hadn't texted Richard. Part of her wanted to, but the other part of her didn't really see a point in doing so. She doubted that he'd even respond to her text if she did.

"He's probably already forgotten that he gave me his number anyways," she mumbled, getting out of her car. She shut the door and began to make her way up to the school.

She let out a small "Eep!" as hands turned her back around. She came face to face with Xavier, yet again.

"What do you want?" she demanded, wiggling herself away from him.

"_Kori you know how long I've wanted you," Xavier said, throwing her down on the bed._ Kori felt herself becoming teary eyed, as the thoughts of that night between them flooded through her head once more.

"I wanted to apologize," he said, shortly. "Look, I was drunk that night. It should have never went down like that. Give me another chance?"

Kori looked into his eyes and laughed, bitterly. "Please Xavier, I never even liked you like that to begin with."

His once pleading eyes turned piercing, "God Kori why are you such a fucking cunt? You're the slut who practically threw yourself at -"

She slapped him. Hard. "Do not EVER call me that you fucking asshole!"

"Hey! Hey, what the hell is going on here?" Victor yelled out, walking up towards them. "You okay Kori? You just slapped him."

"I'm fine," she stated, "I'm leaving now."

Victor waited until she walked away to turn to his other friends. "What the hell did you do? I've never heard of Kori fighting with anyone."

Xavier snorted, still rubbing his face where she slapped him. "It's a long story. I won't go out with her again. She's a lunatic, I swear. God, I've never been slapped before."

Victor nodded, acting as if he believed his friend of 4 years, but deep down he knew there was something else going on, and he had a feeling Kori wasn't the lunatic. He could see something evil in Xavier's eyes, something almost lethal.

He just hoped he was wrong.

-x-x-x-x-

**Hey! Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! My characters might eventually get a little OOC at some points, but it happens. **

**Next chapter will be posted probably by the 12****th****, I'm going to try to update every Thursday. (This will probably be a somewhat long story, as I have a lot planned, so bare with me!) And there will be definitely some more RichardxKori moments in the next chapter. **

**Please continue to review! I have enjoyed all of the reviews so far. **


	4. Chapter 4

Shame

-x-x-x-x- Chapter Four –x-x-x-x-

Richard sat in his English class, bored out of his mind. He had never been a fan of the subject, but he didn't necessarily hate it either. He sighed out loud, and looked down at his book when his teacher looked up and gave him a look.

"Hey man, what's up?" Garfield asked, "You've just been staring off into space like this whole class period. I never do more work than you!"

"Shut it Gar, I'm just annoyed at Bruce. Basically Saturday, he told me after I graduated; I wouldn't have a life this summer. Something about me finally preparing myself in hopes of taking over his business."

"Oh, that's rough man. That's got to suck," Gar said quietly, knowing that his friend hated the idea of running his adoptive fathers business.

Richard just shrugged his shoulder. For his book project he chose the book The Catcher in the Rye. He had read it a few years back, but it was one of his favorite classic novels. For the project they had to build a setting from the book, and write a paper on it. He had decided he would build the carousel that Holden Caulfield took his sister Phoebe to ride on.

He wanted to build that setting from the end of the book, because he wanted to be able to feel the happiness that Holden felt. But Richard had a feeling that he only had till graduation to experience any kind of joy.

Richard knew he shouldn't be so ungrateful and so unhappy with his life. After all, he knew he could have anything he wanted, whenever he wanted it. He was lucky to be able to have such a luxurious life, but it had its penalties.

Richard couldn't do anything that would ruin his father's reputation, meaning he had to be his best at everything. His best in public, he best academically, he had to look the best, drive the best, and just BE the best. He couldn't do anything that could even come close to threatening their image.

He just wished more people would understand that he had to throw his entire childhood away, and stopped thinking that he had no reason to complain about anything. The only 'childhood' he ever really had, was when his parents were alive, and even then he had to suffer the tragedy of them dying at a young age. He never asked to be rich or to be adopted by the famous Bruce Wayne, and he knew money wasn't everything. Sure, it was real nice to have, but he already started to feel the emptiness in his life. Emptiness he knew anything bought couldn't fill.

"So," Garfield started, cutting into Richards thoughts, "Are you really going to go through with that bet? I think it's a bad idea, dude. Does Victor know yet? Or is he not supposed to know?"

"It's just a little fun, Garfield. I'll end it if it goes too far, but I need some fun in my life right now. Especially after what I was told this weekend, because I thought maybe I'd have the summer off to live my life a little before college. And no, he doesn't know. I'd like to keep it that way, for the sake of his relationship."

"But, I mean… Is breaking her heart really that fun?"

Richard gave him an annoyed look, "I doubt it even comes to that. I asked her to text me over the weekend basically, and she never did. So she's probably not interested anyways."

"Excuse me; is my class in the way of your conversation? Perhaps you two can continue it in the Principals office," their teacher, Mr. Wilson, yelled out, standing up from his desk.

"Aha… No, that won't be necessary. We were just shutting up now, sorry sir, er- Mr. Wilson," Garfield awkwardly said, and threw his face down behind his book, "I can't get in trouble again Richard!" He whispered, already getting thrown out of his classes for being a nuisance four times already this year.

"You're the one who started talking," Richard almost growled back, also not able to afford getting in trouble or school, or he'd have to deal with the wrath of Bruce.

After about twenty more minutes of almost unbearable silence, the bell finally rang and Richard and Garfield practically bolted out of the class.

"Hey my dudes!" a loud voice called out, belonging to none other than Victor.

"Hey Vic, you sitting at lunch with us today? Or with your girleyfriend?" Gar asked, wiggling his brows.

"Nah, I think I'll sit with you guys today. Have you guys seen Xavier? I saw him this morning, but I haven't seen him since."

"No why?" Richard asked, putting in the combination to his locker.

"Well, I don't know. He was just… acting weird this morning. Was gonna make sure he was alright," Victor said quickly, not wanting to bring up the slapping.

Richard raised a brow, "How do you mean 'acting weird'?"

"I don't know. He just seemed a little off is all? I'm sure he just wasn't feeling well. But enough about Xavier, I heard you gave a certain red head your phone number on Friday?" Victor began to laugh as he was the one doing the brow wiggling now.

"Karen told you I take it? That's good, at least Kori was talking about me," Richard stated, some hope growing within him.

"Karen wanted me to tell you to meet up with Kori after 7th. Since you both have free periods, Karen said she's always in the library. And she asked me to ask you to try to get Kori to go on a double date with us, I guess."

Richard gave him his famous lop-sided grin, "Alright, sounds good."

_A double date? Perfect. I doub't she'll refuse if her friends want her to go on it._

-x-x-x-x-

Kori sat through all of her classes, watching the clock slowly pass by every hour. She was relieved when her last period of the day came along, because it was her free period. She spent her free periods in the library. It was quiet, peaceful, and she just loved being able to kick back and relax on one of the sofas and either read or pull out her notebook and write or draw.

There was hardly anyone in the library ever during that time of the day, except for a few people going in and out every now and then. She was even on first name basis with the Librarian (though she'd always call her Mrs. Kole, in respect), who enjoyed Kori's company and was pleased by Kori always helping out when she could around the room.

Kori walked into the library and gave Mrs. Kole a wave.

"Good afternoon Kori," she said, smiling and waving back to Kori before going back to her laptop. Kori plopped herself down on the couch, and pulled out her phone. She had a text from Ryan:

Ryan: **Hey sis, I probably won't be home tonight or tomorrow. I have to go out of town for work. Is that okay?**

Kori pouted but texted back that it was fine. _Great, home alone for two days. _

She heard the door open, and was shocked to see who walked in. _Richard? I never see him in the library. _She panicked and pretended she didn't see him, hoping he wouldn't come talk to her because she felt guilty for never texting him.

She heard footsteps coming closer to her, and she knew today was not her lucky day. "Hey Kori. Oh, I guess your phone does work after all." He pointed out, staring at her phone in her hands.

Kori looked up at him, her eyes the size of dinner plates. "I- I – I'm sorry I just… I didn't think- I-" She horribly stuttered out, not knowing how to respond to that.

He laughed, "I'm just teasing you, Kori. Calm down. Would have been nice to hear from you, though. May I?" he asked, gesturing towards the open seat next to her.

"Yes, you may," she replied, feeling the heat in her cheeks.

"You know Kori, you're adorable when you're all embarrassed like that," he chuckled, "You're not nervous or whatever because of me are you?"

She knew her cheeks were really red now, and she tried to not look at him. But the corner of her eye caught his dazzling smile, and she smiled back. "Kind of…" she peeped out, trying to calm herself down.

"Aw, don't be. I'm no one to be nervous around, Kori, trust me."

Kori nodded her head, but stayed silent.

"So, my best friend Victor is dating your friend Karen, as we both know. And well, Victor asked me to ask you to go on a double date with them sometime, because of Karen insisting on him asking me to ask you that." Richard said, making it sound a bit more confusing than he wanted to.

"So basically, Karen is the one who wants to go on the double date?" Kori giggled, knowing she should of expected this to happen.

"Yeah, and so do I…" Richard sheepishly said, "but I mean, if you don't want to, it's cool. Personally, I think it'd be fun, but I know you're kind of shy… So I don't want to push you into it or anything."

Kori was impressed that he seemed to actually take her feelings into consideration, something must guys she's been around never did. "When would this double date be?"

"He actually didn't say, but probably sometime this week. Though I am busy this weekend with personal things," Richard said annoyed. Kori felt uncomfortable as she picked up on his annoyance, and shifted in her seat.

Richard could see that his tone made her uncomfortable, and mentally slapped himself. "Sorry, I'm not annoyed because of you or anything. My dad's been a pain lately is all."

"Oh… yeah, my dad used to be a pain sometimes too," she laughed sadly, missing all the things he would do for her, even if she didn't like the moments when she was disciplined and so on at the time. She knew everything he did for her, was for her best interests.

Richard got caught up on her words, "Used to be?"

She looked away from him, her eyes still a bit teary eyed from thinking of her father. "Yeah… He and my mother passed away a few years ago. I don't talk about it much, and do not wish to now. Can we move onto a different subject? Sorry…"

He grabbed her hand, "I completely understand, Kori. I won't push the subject." He put his finger up to her chin, and moved her head so she was facing him. He gave her a sad smile, "I lost my parents too, though. I know the pain." He wiped a tear from her face, and squeezed her hand in reassurance that everything would be fine.

"I'm sorry…" Kori said quietly said, looking into his blue eyes. She could see all the pain and anger in them… The same things she could see in her own. She knew then she wanted to be in his life and he in hers, even if it was just barely… even if it was just a text or two on occasion.

She knew then that he could help her on a level that none of her friends could.

"I will find out from Karen when she is wanting to go on that double date – get together thing, and text you letting you know when. Okay?"

"Alright, I'll be looking forward to hearing from you."

Richard got up and stretched, "Time really does fly fast," he muttered, glancing up at the clock. The period was already almost over, and Richard was surprised by the fact that he really did enjoy her company, and his heart hurt for her knowing she was in the same position as him.

_Maybe this bet is going to be a bit more complicated than I thought…_

-x-x-x-x-

**As promised, I have updated on Thursday. Will have the next chapter up either Wednesday or Thursday of next week, depending on my free time.**

**Please keep reviewing, favoriting, and following. It means a lot. I am glad you all are enjoying the story so far. :D**


	5. Chapter 5

Shame

-x-x-x-x- Chapter Five –x-x-x-x-

Kori stood outside in the parking lot, right next to Karen's car. Her eyes scanned every single person who walked out of the back door of their high school, smiling once she finally saw her friend walk out as she was digging through her bag.

"Lose your keys again?" Kori called out, amused by her friend constantly losing everything she owns.

"Yeah, yeah. Hush," Karen said, sticking her tongue out, "I really don't know how I lose these damn things all the time."

Karen squealed triumphantly as she pulled her keys out of her bag, "Found them quicker than last time!"

Kori sarcastically clapped her hands, "Congratulations, Karen."

Kori then eyed her for a moment, her green eyes staring Karen down. Karen became uncomfortable, "W-what?"

"A double date Karen? You couldn't just let things go along on their own?"

"You didn't have to say yes. But did you?"

Kori rolled her eyes, "If telling him I'd text him when I found out the details of where and when means yes, then yes. He acted like the weekend wouldn't be good for him."

Karen turned around and unlocked her car door. She got inside of her car and rolled the window down, "I suppose we can just keep it simple for _this _date. Dinner and a movie. We'll meet up at Vics around 7 tomorrow. And Kori, I'll meet up with you at your house." She looked Kori up and down, "I need to make sure you look damn good tomorrow night. We all know everyone always needs my help in that department."

Kori rolled her eyes again, "Oh whatever. But fine, I'll let him know."

She watched Karen drive away, and stood there waving at her for a minute. Before she knew it, she was completely alone in the parking lot. She looked up at the sky for a moment, and smiled as she let the warmth of the sun embrace her. She was happy that it was actually a warm day since the he fall was always a bit too chilly for her tastes, but she loved how pretty the season was.

"Enjoying the sun?" a quiet voice questioned, scaring Kori. She turned around and narrowed her eyes at her friend, "Rachel you know I do not like to be scared."

"Sorry, Kori. So I hear you're going on a double date with Karen, Victor, and Richard. Sounds….great," Rachel stated in her usual sarcastic tone.

"Please do not be like that. It's more of just 'hanging out' than a date. I hardly know him, and I doubt he's really _that _interested. Victor probably just caught him off guard with the question, and he didn't want to be mean," Kori quickly came up with, though she knew it was more than that. It had to be, with the way he was vulnerable with her in the library… She didn't believe what she was saying, so she figured Rachel wouldn't either.

"Whatever you say Kori, I gotta get going though. Let me know how the date goes for whenever it happens. I'll see you tomorrow, mom has been blowing up my phone."

Kori gave Rachel a hug and said her goodbyes.

_I wish she'd just be happy for me for once…_

Kori took the long way around to her parking lot, just wanting to take advantage of the day. She didn't know why she was still walking around at the school other than enjoying the weather. Everyone had been gone for a while now other than the people who stayed behind for extracurricular activities. She started to feel a little weird, as if something was wrong, so she decided end her adventure around the school and quickly make her way to her car.

"That was such a weird feeling," she whispered, locking her car doors. She shook her head and told herself she was being silly before starting the car. Unaware that someone was staring at her from a distance, she left the school and drove home.

-x-x-x-x-

Kori walked into her home and almost went upstairs; when she had the weird feeling she had again back at the parking lot. She turned around and looked at her door, before quickly locking it. "I hate it when Ryan isn't home. I get so paranoid," she whispered, not aware of why she kept whispering. She made her way upstairs, and looked around for her cat Silkie.

"Silkie? Silkie!" She called out, not being able to find her little furry bundle of joy. She looked at another one of his hiding spots, and finally was able to find him asleep on a pile of clothes in the hamper. "Oh there you are my little bumgorf!" She petted him and smiled as he rolled onto his back, yawning. She gave him a peck on his little head and smiled, "I guess I can't say I'm alone when you're always here." She giggled and got up, and walked over to her bag.

She dug out of her phone and sat down at her computer desk. She stared at it probably for almost ten minutes straight. "Here goes nothing," she sighed. She pulled up his contact information and began to text him.

**Hey Richard. This is Kori… I talked to Karen, she wants to see movie & dinner tomorrow night. Is that okay with you?**

She read it a few times and finally pressed send. Butterflies filled her stomach as she waited for him to reply, part of her thinking he wouldn't. She walked over to her bed and laid down.

-x-x-x-x-

"Gar, you can be so weird sometimes..." Richard said, observing his friend look at a million magazines of mopeds as he sat on his bed.

"What? They're really cool."

"Haha, I guess… I mean you have the money, I don't see why you don't just –"

Richard felt his phone vibrate, and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Whose number is that?" He held his phone up to Garfield, who simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to staring at the moped of his dreams.

He opened up the text, and smiled when he realized the text was from Kori. _Tomorrow night? That's soon. _He texted back that it was fine, and asked what time and where.

"I guess Kori, Victor, Karen, and I are all going on a double date for sure. Tomorrow night apparently."

Garfield shrugged his shoulders again, "I do not want any part of this."

Richard glared at his friend and felt his phone vibrate again.

Kori: **We're supposed to meet at Victor's house tomorrow at 7. Karen will be taking me there, and from there I do not know the exact plans yet.**

Richard was already planning on what he would wear, and trying to imagine what she'd look like and how the date would go. He was already hoping it would lead to a second date, but the second date just being her and him alone. He texted back that seven was fine and that he couldn't wait to do this. He was a little disappointed when she didn't text him back, but he just figured she was busy or something.

"Anyways, what do you think of this one?" Garfield asked, pointing at a cherry red moped, "It's even on sale!"

Richard shook his head, "Just buy one already. You do this every single Monday."

Garfield threw his hands in his head, "I just can't go buy one. My dad wouldn't be too pleased. This sucks man!" He whined in aggravation, "I've always wanted one of these."

"Maybe someone will get you one for a graduation present or something," Richard suggested, wanting Garfield to become less aggravated.

"Yeah, maybe… I guess I'll put these magazines away now… No point in torturing myself." Garfield then dramatically put the magazines back into his back pack and sat there staring at the floor.

"Want some burgers? I'll buy." Richard laughed when he saw Garfield perk up again with his toothy grin. "You know I'm always up for free veggie burgers!"

-x-x-x-x-

Kori woke up to her alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes and groaned when she realized it was already seven in the morning. _Why did I fall asleep so early last night?_ Kori looked at her phone and saw that she had 5 new text messages.

She frowned, upset with herself, seeing that she fell asleep when Richard had texted her back about being excited to go on the double date. She was about to text him back when she realized again how early it was, and didn't want to wake him up.

She had a text message from her brother telling her goodnight and that he loved her, and would see her Wednesday. A text message from Roy and Rachel just saying hello.

And her last text message was of course from Karen, who had texted her at 6:45 a.m. saying that they were not going to school today because they were going shopping.

"Oh Karen," Kori muttered cuddling up with her cat in bed. "I guess one day off of school isn't that horrid of an idea." She drifted off to sleep once more.

"_Kori? Kori! Are you alright?" a concerned voice yelled out, running towards her. "I'm fine now," she said, looking up to his beautiful blue eyes. She stared at him for another moment, before their lips met. _

_She laid herself down on the ground as he climbed on top of her. Kissing her nose, her lips… making his way down to her neck. "Richard.. We shouldn't be – "She panicked as she felt the ground vibrating…_

Kori's eyes shot open and realized Karen was calling her. "H-hello?" she stuttered out, trying to even her breathing out. _What the hell was I just dreaming? _"I'm here. You coming out, or letting me in, or what?"

"I'll come unlock the door, you never said when you'd be here. I just woke up."

"Well hurry up, we have tons of shopping to do!"

Kori hung up the phone and made her way downstairs, still feeling a bit groggy. She petted Silkie on her way to the door, since he was perched up on their couch sleeping away. "I swear all you do is sleep, and thanks for leaving the bed" she muttered, smiling down at her cat. She unlocked the door, and left it open as she walked away towards the bathroom.

She heard Karen plop herself down on their couch and turn on the television. She was glad that all her friends were comfortable enough there to do whatever they wanted at her house now, she remembered how awkward it was when they felt too new in her life and at her house to do anything but stand there and be quiet.

Kori undressed and turned on the hot shower. She let her feet stay on the cold tile for a few moments, before climbing inside the shower. She let out a happy sigh as she felt the hot water hit her, waking her up completely.

She touched her lips as she thought of her dream about Richard, and tried to understand why she even dreamt that way. She had never even thought of really kissing him before she dreamt it. "I wonder how far that dream would have went if Karen hadn't called me," she wondered, though not sure why she even wanted to know.

She rid herself of thoughts of him for now as she washed her hair and the rest of her body. She heard Karen laughing at whatever was happening on the show she was watching, and she stared at herself naked in the mirror once she got out of the shower.

She traced the cut that was underneath her right breast, it was beginning to scar. Her eyes then look at the rest of her. The cut had made her feel ugly… ashamed of what she looked like undressed. She felt her eyes water up as she stared at herself in disgust. She dabbed some ointment on the cut and quickly dressed.

-x-x-x-x-

"Have any of you seen Karen or Kori today?" Victor asked his friends, as he sat down at their table.

Richard looked up concerned, and glanced over at the table they're usually at. He noticed all the usual people, and of course Karen and Kori were gone.

"No? I haven't even heard from her," Richard said, sounding more annoyed then he planned.

"Oh? Wait, so does this mean the dates off? Cause Karen was talking to me about it after school yesterday."

"I don't think? I'm pretty sure the date is still on? I don't know! Why are girls so weird," Richard complained, putting his head down on the table.

"Chill man, I'm sure it's still on. No big deal," Victor chuckled, enjoying seeing Richard so flustered.

"I'll just text Karen and ask, since she hasn't texted me."

"Yeah, Kori hasn't texted me either," Richard admitted, still not able to tell if she was or wasn't interested in him. It was driving him insane.

-x-x-x-x-

"Aw, how cute!" Karen exclaimed, standing outside of a dressing room. She heard ruffling around inside of the dressing room, and then Kori stuck her head out. She gave Karen a confused look, "What's cute?"

"Well for one, you in that dress! And two, the guys are worried about us."

"The guys?" Kori asked, going back into the dressing room but leaving the door open. She turned a few times in front of the mirrors, still not sure if she liked the dress or not.

"Yeah. Victor _and _Richard are worried about our absence. I guess they thought it's us saying the date is cancelled? Haha. Boys."

"You don't think this dress is over doing it for dinner and a movie? And it's a little short," she said, tugging it down her thighs a little bit.

"Trust me, that dress is perfect."

Kori gave Karen a worried face, and looked at herself again. "I hope you're right…"

-x-x-x-x-

Hours flew by, and Kori and Karen sat around at her house on the couch. After hours of shopping, Kori finally did end up buying the "Slit or Miss Black Dress." It was a little short for her tastes, but she liked it nonetheless.

As it grew nearer to 7, Kori began to panic. Any sort of confidence she felt earlier about the date was quickly beginning to go away. She wanted to take the dress back, take her make up off, and just take away her participation in the double date but as the clock struck 6:40, she knew it was too late for that.

Karen got up and looked at the clock again. "Alright, it's 6:40, we need to make our way over to Victors."

Kori shook her head in agreement, and shut off the T.V. She ran up the stairs quickly to make sure Silkie had food, and to take a look at herself in a mirror again. She approved of how she looked, and took a deep breath before making her way back downstairs.

_Relax Kori. He's just a guy. I shouldn't be trying so hard or so worried about it anyways, _she told herself as she walked over to Karen's car.

About 20 minutes later, they pulled up to Victor's mansion. His father was a famous football player and a host of a sports talk show. In other words, like Richard, he was very well off, and was following closely in his father's footsteps.

Richard and Victor were already waiting outside of the house, both dressed very elegantly. Richard wore a pair of black Armani jeans and a white button up dress shirt, Victor wearing an outfit of a similar taste.

He felt extremely nervous for the first time in a long time, as he saw headlights coming towards them. He felt guilty, knowing to an extent he was leading her on for a stupid bet he made with Xavier. But he also felt excited, since a huge part of him was really taking an interest in her.

His mouth was left wide open once he saw Kori step out of Karen's car. His eyes ran up and down her body, loving the way her black dress hugged her curves in all the right places. Her dress emphasized her long legs and thick thighs, and there was a small slit in the front of her dress, showing just a little peak of her cleavage. She kept it elegant but sexy, and he felt himself becoming hard at the sight of her.

She walked over to him, herself enjoying the view of him. But she always enjoyed the site of him, everyone knew Richard Grayson looked his best at all times no matter what. "Hey," she quietly said, as he gave her a peck on the cheek. "Hey yourself," he smiled. "You uh… look really beautiful tonight, Kori."

She blushed at his words and was about to say thank you when Victor cut in. "So I figured we should take two cars, incase we'd want to separate some time tonight or something. Is it cool with you to ride with Richard, Kori?"

Kori shook her head yes, and they all walked over to the cars. Richard opened the door for her, and she climbed into his SUV. She almost wanted to roll her eyes when she saw how clean his car was, and it even seemed to still have the 'new car' smell to it. She watched him as he made his way to the driver side.

Richard got in and fastened his seat belt, Kori then followed his actions and did the same. There was a moment of silence between them, but it didn't feel awkward to her.

"What restaurant are we even going to anyways?" Kori asked, realizing she had no idea what restaurant they were going to eat at or even what movie they were going to see. "I have no idea what is even going on tonight." She laughed a little, though she felt a little dumb.

"I believe we are going to some fancier pizzeria/pasta place, requested by Victor. I guess it's his favorite place or something."

"Fancier? Oh boy. I didn't even think about bringing a bunch of cash" Kori started, pulling out her wallet. She began freaking out. She had been talking to Karen all night and didn't even think about making sure she had money. She spent the $50 she had in her wallet on the dress she was wearing.

Richard grabbed her hand, and she gave him a questionable look. "You're my date tonight, remember?" He chuckled, and let go of her hand. "I'm not going to make you pay for anything. Me paying is not a problem."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. He was taken aback by her expression. "What?"

"I do not need you to pay for me. Do not once think you're money has any effect on me, it won't be able to 'swoon me' like it does other women," She stated hatefully, no longer looking at him.

"Uh… okay then? Just trying to be nice."

"Sorry you have to try apparently."

"Whoa. Where is this coming from? I'm not trying to swoon you or impress you with my fortune or anything. I was taught to always pay for my dates. If you really want to pay for your own then I can't stop you. Nice job on making me out to be what everyone else makes me out to be, though. Really, good job Kori."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Sorry." She said shortly, looking out the window. He took a deep breath, "I do not even know why this happened. So can we just drop it, and not let it ruin the night."

"Yeah."

The rest of the ride was silent for the most part, except for a few aggravated sighs here and deep breaths there. He didn't want their night to be ruined, so he made sure to not mention any money or anything else among those lines.

He pulled into the restaurants parking lot, a few cars down from Victors. "Kori, seriously… Please do not be mad at me for no reason. I didn't mean anything by it. I wasn't saying you're not capable of paying for your own, I was just trying to be chivalrous."

She gave him an apologetic smile, "Perhaps I have overreacted. I just do not want to have to… _owe _you anything…"

Richards eyes widened, _Oh shit, does she know about the bet?! She can't know, or she wouldn't be here._

"Oh no… of course not… I would never expect you to…_owe _me anything Kori." He found himself grabbing her hand in reassurance, something he's done a few times already it seemed. Usually he wasn't so touchy with girls, but it seemed she was bringing that side out of him.

A few moments later they were all gathered inside of the restaurant, waiting for their table. Kori still felt the butterflies as Richard was standing really close to her, their hands practically touching. She didn't know why he had such an effect on her, when part of her knew despite the way he has been towards her, that he is an arrogant playboy. She feared if they kept going on dates that he would eventually expect her to do things for him, and she didn't know when or if she'd ever want to take the step with him.

"Right this way," their waiter said, gesturing towards an open booth in a more private section of the restaurant. They followed him and approached their table.

Richard stood next to the booth and let Kori scoot in before sitting down next to her.

"What would you all be having for drinks tonight?" The waiter asked kindly, glancing at Richard for him to start the order. "I'll have an iced tea."

"And for you miss?" He asked, staring at the slit in her dress for a bit too long. This of course, when unnoticed by Richard who began to glare at him and coughed. The waiter tore his eyes away from the little bit of cleavage once he realized Richards death glare. "Um…" Kori pondered, her green eyes scanning the drink section of the menu, "I'll have a raspberry lemonade."

"Very well, and for you two?"

"We'll both have an iced tea as well," Victor said, now focusing on the dinner part of the menu.

"I'll be back with your drinks in a moment, please take your time looking over our menu. Remember we have free unlimited breadsticks tonight since it's Tuesday."

They all shook their heads and the waiter left, leaving them to glance at the different things they could have.

"See anything you like? And please don't say just a salad" Richard asked Kori, already deciding that he would try the Chicken Carbonara pasta entrée. He chuckled, noticing that she must bit her lip when trying to make decisions. He found it incredibly adorable.

"Definitely not just a salad," she noted, "Hm. So many options. I don't want pizza. I guess I'll try the Vegetable-Ravioli lasagna."

"Oh that sounds good actually," Karen piped in, "I didn't even see that. I think I'll get the same thing. What are you getting Victor?"

"I think I'm going to get the baked four cheese spaghetti, with two slices of pepperoni and sausage pizza. And he said free unlimited breadsticks since it's Tuesday right? This is gonna be great!" He exclaimed, happy with his decisions food wise, and happy with his decision to pick this restaurant.

Kori giggled, "I don't see how you can eat so much."

"Many people can't. What can I say, I'm a food lover." He gave her a warm smile, and turned to Karen. "I'm a lover of other things too." He gave her a kiss on the lips, and Kori felt happy for her. Victor, so far, seems to treat her incredibly. She always wanted the best for her friends.

Kori glanced over at Richard who seemed a little distracted. "Is everything okay?" Kori whispered, making eye contact with him.

He smiled at her sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my mind. Do you think we could skip out on the movie tonight?"

Kori felt a little insulted by his question, and he quickly realized how wrong it sounded. "Oh no, it's not because of you. I'd just rather get some alone time with you is all, where we can actually talk and get to know each other better. I'm not shortening our date or anything, haha."

She felt instant relief and calmed down a little, "Yes, I suppose that will be fine. I'm not really a big movie going person anyways."

"Yeah me either."

-x-x-x-x-

It had been over an hour that they've been at the restaurant. Kori was stuffed on breadsticks, and only ate practically half of her Vegetable-Ravioli lasagna. Kori felt bad once the check came, and Richard said they'd split it in two. Victor paid for him and Karen, and Richard insisted on paying for her and him.

They stood outside in the parking lot for a few minutes, saying their goodbyes to Victor and Karen who were still going to go out to a movie and whatever else they were wanting to do later on. They watched them drive away before turning towards eachother.

"I can pay you back, Richard."

"Kori, for the millionth time, I wanted to pay, okay? I don't expect you to pay me back or anything else, now hush." He chuckled, he liked her persistence. Most girls he went on dates with don't even bring up the idea of them paying, they always assumed he would. Not that he cared, but it was refreshing to be with someone different. She was independent, and he loved that about her.

"Okay… It just makes me feel weird is all…"

Richard grabbed her hand and led her towards his car, "So, Kori. Where would you like to go tonight? Anywhere you want."

Kori looked up at him, studying his face. "Anywhere?"

She had a weird tone to her voice, and he didn't know whether to be excited or scared. "I-I guess so?... Anywhere legal of course… And in driving distance…"

She laughed, hard. "Who do you think I am? You're acting like you're scared of me or something. Of course somewhere legal and driving distance, I just want to make sure you'd take me anywhere tonight, within reason."

"Yes. Now… Where would you like to go Miss Anders?"

-x-x-x-x-

A car was parked across the parking lot from Richards' car, and their jealous eyes observed the two. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he watched them get closer to each other, and seeing her giggle. It made him sick to see her appear to be so happy and enjoying herself.

_Why did I even do this stupid bet_, he wondered. He knew he did it because he wanted to hurt Kori, but at the same time, he didn't want Richard to be the good guy who gets to score with her. He rubbed his face where she had slapped him the previous day, and felt the rage continue to grow within him.

He wanted to hurt her as much as he possibly could, and came up with his second plan to attempt to hurt her a little bit more.

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number. "Hey, do you think you can come over tonight? I have a little problem, and I think you're the perfect one who can fix it."

After hearing the words "Okay" he hung up, and brought his attention back to the 'couple' who was getting into Richards car.

"Keep getting to know her Grayson, keep making this easier for me." He waited till Richard pulled out of the parking lot before leaving himself. He thought about following them some more, but knew he needed to go home to deal with the second part of his plan. He sneered at the thoughts of what he hoped all of this would do to the precious, spoiled Korina Anders.

-x-x-x-x-

"This is where you wanted to go, Kori?" Richard asked, standing on top of a hill that overlooked the city. He admitted it was a beautiful view at night, with everything lit up, but he didn't know why she wanted to come here of all places.

She sat down, and tugged her dress down her thighs once more. He couldn't help but to enjoy the view of when the dress rode up her legs, showing even more of her thighs. He looked away however, feeling himself become aroused again.

"Yes, here Richard. This used to be my favorite spot ever, I just haven't come here in a while. Sit down, you said you wanted alone time. This is the best place for that." She patted the spot next to her, gesturing for him to sit down.

"So, have you always lived in Gotham?" He asked, realizing he didn't even know if she was even really from around here.

"Actually, no. I was born in this little country Tamaran, but I only lived there for like two and a half years. We were living in California for a couple of years, and then we've lived here since I was 11. You?"

"Practically yeah. I used to move around a bit with my parents when they were still around, but I was adopted by Bruce when I was really young, so it's as if I have been here all of my life." She nodded, understanding his situation.

"What's your dream, Richard?" She asked, looking up at the sky, with a hint of sadness, as if she was still trying to figure out her own.

"Oh gosh. That's quite the question. My dream is to be successful, in whatever career path I go in, though I'm afraid I really don't have that much choice in the matter." He paused when he noticed her staring at him, not understanding what he meant.

"It's a long story, but basically I'm kind of forced to follow Bruce's career. Take over his company when he's no longer able."

"But a better dream than that, is that I wish just for one week of my life I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with whoever I wanted. No pressure of maintaining my image. No worries about Bruce looking down at me in disapproval. Just for a little while have an actual life, you know? Experience true happiness. That's my dream, Kori. To be truly happy, even if it's just temporary."

Her heart felt torn for him, not ever expecting him to say anything like that.

He felt bad, not meaning to sound so depressing. He felt weird for even saying all of that out loud. He wasn't even this open with his best friends. "I guess I just want to know happiness isn't just an idea, but that it can actually happen."

Kori turned to him and gave him a hug, "Thank you for telling me that Richard… I never thought you of all people would say something like that to me… No offense or anything…"

"None taken, Kori." He watched her as she turned away, facing the city.

"Isn't Gotham just so beautiful at this time of night?" Kori asked him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at city lights.

"Kori… You really are beautiful tonight," he whispered, still taking in all her beauty. He had always known she was beautiful, everyone at their school did, but he never actually took the time to look at her the way he was tonight.

Kori looked over at him, their eyes locking together. All her butterflies came flooding back as she realized he was leaning towards her. She closed her eyes and let him kiss her. She felt her body melt at his touch. He pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

He licked her lips, asking for entrance. A gesture she gladly accepted and their small kiss soon turned passionate. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his ebony hair. His fingers traced all around her body, his hands finding their way down her back.

She started to feel the sexual tension between them become too much, and she made herself pull away from him. She caught her breath, still trying to wrap her head around what just happened. She's been kissed before quite a few times, but had never experienced such a steamy kiss like that. "It's getting late Richard, we should probably get going."

He was a little disappointed that she suggested going home, but he understood and nodded his head in agreement.

-x-x-x-x-

A red headed woman stood out in front of two large front doors. She groaned impatiently, waiting for Xavier to open up.

She heard noises inside of the large house, and felt relief. She gave a devilish smile at him when he finally opened the doors, "Hey sexy." She winked at him and let herself inside.

"Hey Babs, glad you could make it tonight." He gave her a hug and smelled her hair, he felt himself already getting aroused. "Mmm, me too," she said, feeling his arms snake around her waist, his hands traveling down to her ass.

"Ah ah Xavier. Not before we discuss this little problem you said we needed to talk about?"


End file.
